diff --git a/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.md b/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 287d6775d6458d22fe80fa24e97b009e1df69228..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-# Acknowledgements
-
-This software was developed to meet the U.S. Geological Survey's need for a
-high-performance probabilistic seismic hazard (PSHA) engine capable of supporting
-increasingly complex earthquake hazard models via web-services. It leverages and
-benefits from many design and performance features found in
-[OpenSHA](http://www.opensha.org) and the legacy [USGS fortran codes](/usgs/nshmp-haz-fortran),
-both of which have been supported by the USGS and others over many years. In particular,
-the Southern California Earthquake Center ([SCEC](https://www.scec.org)) has been instrumental
-in the continued development of OpenSHA, which is in use worldwide.
-
-This software is not a replacement for OpenSHA and does not provide a public API for PSHA
-development. In the near future, `nshmp-haz` will likely be added as a dependency in OpenSHA
-so that it's users may gain access to the most current USGS hazard models.
diff --git a/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md b/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
index 0052da372b5ef3e34c9bbe9e13161e5d371d38f9..adc2dc1bbd2936711c1f7b5bd5b6f8311fbac305 100644
--- a/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
+++ b/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-Code of Conduct
-===============
+# Code of Conduct
 
 All contributions to and interactions surrounding this project will abide by
 the [USGS Code of Scientific Conduct][1].
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 4f36ec9e2ab7910db33214afa74092ef7bc61a03..d391f6d24925f2ace086ae680ed0f33567bbd572 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-Contributing
-============
+# Contributing
 
 Contributions are welcome from the community. Questions can be asked on the
 [issues page][1]. Before creating a new issue, please take a moment to search
diff --git a/DISCLAIMER.md b/DISCLAIMER.md
index d7e2fe9e3620364309ff79f8eb08b756e54207c8..ec593eb18c6dc06781a39be052b8a14b03fcef77 100644
--- a/DISCLAIMER.md
+++ b/DISCLAIMER.md
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-Disclaimer
-==========
+# Disclaimer
 
 This software has been approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey
 (USGS). Although the software has been subjected to rigorous review, the USGS
diff --git a/LICENSE.md b/LICENSE.md
index 87c1db9b069206d1625e96cf7bb12a6b6fff5dc1..e98788f39d0120e4d3e24974415992974807047a 100644
--- a/LICENSE.md
+++ b/LICENSE.md
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
+# License
+
 Unless otherwise noted, this project is in the public domain in the United
 States because it contains materials that originally came from the United
 States Geological Survey, an agency of the United States Department of
 Interior. For more information, see the official USGS copyright policy at
-https://www2.usgs.gov/visual-id/credit_usgs.html#copyright
+<https://www2.usgs.gov/visual-id/credit_usgs.html#copyright>
 
 Additionally, we waive copyright and related rights in the work
-worldwide through the CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication. 
+worldwide through the CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication.
 
 ## CC0 1.0 Universal Summary
 
@@ -33,4 +35,3 @@ this deed makes no warranties about the work, and disclaims liability for
 all uses of the work, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
 When using or citing the work, you should not imply endorsement by the
 author or the affirmer.
-